Author name: Steven Imke

Critical Thinking About Macroeconomic Forces

Critical Thinking About Macroeconomic Forces

When completing a Business Model Canvas, it is helpful to guide the discussion through the use of questions. When it comes to looking at macroeconomic forces that will affect your business model, the following set of questions should help you in thinking more critically about your business model. These questions are broken into four categories: […]

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Critical Thinking About Industry Forces

Critical Thinking About Industry Forces

When completing a Business Model Canvas, it is helpful to guide the discussion through the use of questions. When it comes to looking at industry forces that will affect your business model, the following set of questions should help you in thinking more critically about your business model. These questions are broken into three categories:

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Revenue Streams - Business Model Canvas

Choosing a Revenue Stream

When it comes revenue streams, they are generally either “transactional,” resulting from a one-time payment, or “recurring,” resulting from ongoing payments that deliver value or provide post-sales support. When it comes to defining a business’s revenue streams, I find it helpful to consider a list of different types of revenue streams to guide me and

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Value Proposition - Business Model Canvas

Choosing a Value Proposition Type

When considering your unique value proposition, I find it helpful to consider a list of common value propositions to help guide me and my client’s thinking. To that end, here are eleven common value propositions that businesses might offer to their selected customer segment. Review the following value proposition types and determine which one is

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Customer Segment - Business Model Canvas

Choosing a Customer Segment Type

The first step for a new business or an existing business coming out with a new product line is to define the customer segment they are targeting. During the early stages of the process, I recommend starting out with a broad definition of the customer segment. The following is a list of five common customer

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Customer Service Is More than a Slogan

Business Lessons from Mickey Drexler – Open Communications Is More than a Slogan

Mickey Drexler hates emails and memos but loves to communicate face to face or over the phone. He prefers personal interactions so he can be sure that others are listening to him. When Drexler was hired as the new president of Gap Inc’s Stores Division in 1983, his first order of business was to fire

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What Is Disruptive Innovation?

What Is Disruptive Innovation?

Disruptive innovation is not about the next new product as much as it is about transforming an existing market from being expensive and complex to affordable and accessible. A disruptive innovation is more about targeting a high profit/low margin business and creating a high volume/low margin alternative. For example, it is very expensive to take

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The Tipping Point of Labor and Automation

The Tipping Point of Labor and Automation

The other day we talked about mass-produced products being the only ones making it to the market. We stated that this was because they require high sales volumes to break-even. However, we also discussed that some manufacturing was able to be customized and more easily distributed. In the past, it required large capital investments to

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The Coming Cottage Manufacturing Revolution

The Coming Cottage Manufacturing Revolution

The only parts that make it into the mainstream are parts that can be manufactured in the tens of thousands. These large batches then require complex distribution channels and warehousing of inventory that ties up precious capital. With small-scale 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC machines, parts can be produced at the point of sale.

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The Final 4 Principles to Influence a Sale (Scarcity, Likeability, Indifference, & Commitment)

The Final 4 Principles to Influence a Sale (Scarcity, Likeability, Indifference, & Commitment)

Over the past three days, we discussed the first twelve principles to influence a sale from the book, “Rain Making Conversations,” written by Mike Schultz and John Doerr. Today, we will cover the last 4 principles. 13. Scarcity – “Buy it now! Only 2 left!” is a phrase we often hear. Scarcity is the most

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Another 4 More Principles to Influence a Sale (Stepping Stones, Ownership, Involvement, & Desire for Inclusion)

Another 4 More Principles to Influence a Sale (Stepping Stones, Ownership, Involvement, & Desire for Inclusion)

Over the past two days, we discussed the first eight principles to influence a sale from the book, “Rain Making Conversations,” written by Mike Schultz and John Doerr. Today, we will cover the next 4 principles: 9. Stepping Stones – People are more interested in things they are familiar with. A good salesman takes the

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4 More Principles to Influence a Sale (Emotional Journey, Belief, Justification, & Trust

4 More Principles to Influence a Sale (Emotional Journey, Belief, Justification, & Trust)

Yesterday, we discussed the first four principles to influence a sale from the book, “Rain Making Conversations,” written by Mike Schultz and John Doerr. Today, we will cover the next 4 principles. 5. Emotional Journey – As we pointed out in the blog, “Stories to Create a Great First Impression,” a goods salesman is a

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4 Principles to Influence a Sale (Attention, Curiosity, Desire, & Envy)

4 Principles to Influence a Sale (Attention, Curiosity, Desire, & Envy)

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything to get it? That feeling does not happen overnight; a sales process created that yearning inside you. In their book, “Rainmaking Conversations,” Mike Schultz and John Doerr list 16 ways to make your customers reach that level of desire. Over the next 4

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Critical Thinking About Macroeconomic Forces

Macroeconomic Forces and the Business Model Canvas

The next and final environmental forces block is “Macroeconomic Forces.” This section is used to determine if your business model can adjust to macroeconomic shifts. This is where keeping up with current events is important. In addition to watching the world and local news programs each day, I use an internet news aggregator that searches

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Critical Thinking About Industry Forces

Industry Forces and the Business Model Canvas

The next environmental forces block is “Industry Forces” and this section is used to determine if your business model will have a competitive edge today and tomorrow. To understand industrial forces, you need to assess who your competitors are. A tool called Data Axle Formerly called Reference USA (available at many libraries) is a valuable

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Critical Thinking About Key Trends

Key Trends and the Business Model Canvas

The next environmental forces block is related to key trends. The “Key Trends” block is used to evaluate if your Business Model Canvas takes advantage of emerging market trends. Are there any new technologies on the horizon that may undercut your business model? Don’t just look at the advances in your industry that may affect

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Critical Thinking About Market Forces

Market Forces and the Business Model Canvas

The first environmental forces block is related to the market forces of the customer segments in your Business Model Canvas. The purpose of the “Market Forces” block is to verify that your model is in line with the evolving needs of your chosen customer segment. When you are looking at market forces, you should start

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Four Environmental Forces Affecting Your Business Model Canvas Design

Four Environmental Forces Affecting Your Business Model Canvas Design

When you have completed the 9 blocks of the Business Model Canvas, you may have a well thought out business model. However, will it stand up in the real world? In the real world, your business will compete for market share and fight for survival every day. For the most part, the 9 blocks that

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Why We Need an Entrepreneurial Mind Set

Why We Need an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Entrepreneurs by their nature are risk takers. With increased risk comes greater reward potential. However, society, in general, is moving towards less risk and less reward. As a society, we are willing to trade security in the form of Social Security in our old age and Affordable Health Care in exchange for the freedom to

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Cornelius Vanderbilt

More Lessons from the Railroad Titan Cornelius Vanderbilt

This is part 2 in the series on Cornelius Vanderbilt. For the full text see Valuable Business Lessons From The Shipping Tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt With the emerging Industrial Revolution, Vanderbilt saw that the railroad business was the future and would soon replace much of the ferry business. He began a campaign to take over the

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Stage 3: The Athletes and Performers of Business

Stage 3: The Athletes and Performers of Business

For a business to advance from stage 2 to stage 3, the business undergoes a substantial shift from being on the offensive and growth-oriented to becoming more defensive and focused on process improvement through business segmentation. The business segmentation associated with stage 3 sets up the business for shared leadership and management by creating multiple

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How to Use Stories to Create a Great First Impression

How to Use Stories to Create a Great First Impression

There is a lot of information about the personal side of making a good first impression, such as how to dress, a firm handshake, and so on. However, too few people focus on what makes the encounter both memorable and shareable with others. Great stories use mental imagery and associations such as similes, metaphors, and analogies as well as emotional appeals to make them memorable.

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Value Proposition - Business Model Canvas

Value Propositions and Your Business Model

The second step in creating your Business Model Canvas is to identify your value proposition. What is a value proposition? Simply put, a value proposition is a collection of products and services a business offers to meet the needs of its customers that helps to differentiate it from its competitors. For example, several manufacturers offer

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Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas Series

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean start-up template that a business can use when developing new or documenting existing business models. Basically, it is a visual representation that describes the nine critical elements of a firm’s product or service offerings.

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Bad Assumptions

Bad Assumptions

Leap of faith assumptions needs to be identified and tested early on so that the company can make better decisions instead of incurring significant expenses by going down the wrong path. Unfortunately, our government does not subscribe to testing assumptions before spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money. For example, take the main assumption that

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Gold Digger in a stream

Don’t Be a Gold Digger – Why You Need To Be Main St. Instead

Want to Strike It Rich? History Shows That Chasing Gold—or the Next Big Startup—Rarely Pays Off. The Real Winners Weren’t the Prospectors, but the Main Street Businesses That Sold Them Tools, Food, and Shelter. Today, the Same Lesson Applies—While High-Risk Startups Get All the Attention, the Smart Money Is in Steady, Reliable Businesses That Support Them

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